Dungan Days

Sunday, February 28, 2010

2010 Prince Haakon 12k

We did it! Or, as Milo's friend Dora the Explorer would say, Lo Hicimos! I finished in 1:53.07, nearly 7 minutes under my goal time of 2 hours. And Tod kicked butt with a 1:13.42, coming in 41st place for men and 74th overall. Very respectable considering we skied "classic" style as opposed to the much faster "skate" style. Overall, it was a great experience--a tough but fun race on a beautiful sunny day!

Before the race

Tod, me, my sister Meghan & her husband Alex

After the race

Me, Tod, and our friends Holly & Rich Levine

Me, Meg, Alex & Tod

The finish line

Cutest spectator there!

Sunday, February 21, 2010

A New Friend!

Milo has a new friend. Anna is about a month older than Milo and her mom Kristin was one of our neighbors growing up. Anna, Kristin and Kristin's husband (and Anna's dad) Mark came over last night to take part in our inaugural "game night" festivities. While game night was not as successful as we had hoped (people were too wrapped up in the Olympics to show much interest in playing Apples to Apples or any of the other game selections--oh well, maybe next time!), Milo and Anna had a blast! They were both little shy at first but by the end of the night they were having a grand old time together!

They decided the stairs were the best place to go nigh-nigh

Think there's any Scandinavian blood in this pair?

Milo's "game night" game of choice was air hockey

In other news, Milo is now sleeping in a "big boy bed." His crib is actually one of those convertible cribs, and when my parents were visiting a couple weeks ago my dad was looking for projects so we had him put the crib in its toddler bed configuration. I got some new bedding and gave the room a face lift with a new rug and some new art to hang on the walls. It looks great...that is, when there aren't toys everywhere! No pictures because every time I go to take one the room is a mess! Milo is doing very well with the transition. It took him about a week to even realize that he could get out of the bed himself. For the first time yesterday, instead of waking up and either crying or yelling "mommy" or "daddy" he actually walked right into our room, all by himself. What a fantastic way to wake up!

Milo is also progressing very well in the potty training department. I feel like we've still got a ways to go, but it is amazing how fast he is picking it up. His teachers are potty training pros, so we're letting them take the lead and just doing what they tell us to do!

The countdown to Tod's and my big nordic ski race is on! The race is next Saturday, less than a week away! I am pretty nervous, but I feel confident that I will at least be able to finish. Now we're just crossing our fingers for good weather!

Sunday, January 31, 2010

February Already?

I just realized that tomorrow is February 1st. Where did December and January go?!?

One of the first things Tod and I both thought when we learned that our first child would be born in late December was that the poor kid's birthday would have to compete with Christmas. And sure enough, on the same day that we celebrated Milo's birthday this year, we celebrated Christmas with my Grandma Joni and aunts Lisa and Laura. Some day that may not fly with Milo (we are seriously considering celebrating his birthday on his HALF birthday when he gets older), but this year he didn't know any better, and it worked out just fine.

Milo turned 2 on December 19, and had a great birthday! We started the festivities at a really cool train store in St. Paul called Choo Choo Bob's. They have all sorts of mechanical trains on display, and a bunch of wooden train sets set up on tables for kids to play with. The kids (Milo and his cousins) had a blast! Afterwards, we met for pizza and cake at Broadway, and we were so lucky to have so many family members there to celebrate with us!

Our Christmas plans went up in smoke with one of the biggest snow storms to ever hit Minnesota. I heard one weatherman refer to it as the "Snowpocalypse," which I though was a little dramatic but pretty funny. Despite the bad weather, and for the most part having to reschedule Christmas, everything turned out great. We were basically snowed-in at my parents' house for nearly a week, but enjoyed every second of it, spending lots of time outside sledding, skiing, making snowmen, and skating on the lake.

In mid-January, a bunch of my girlfriends from high school invaded Tampa, Florida and the home of my best friend Carrie for a little girls' weekend. There were six of us total, and although the weather wasn't perfect, it was just great to be together! The last time we were all together was just before Milo was born, so we were long overdue for a get-together like this.

Last weekend we were up in Duluth for Hockey Day Minnesota. Hockey Day is an event put on by Fox Sports Net in which they televise a number of hockey games--from high school to college and pro--throughout the day. And to make it even more enticing, the high school games are played outside! Ironically, the team that Tod coaches (Hopkins) was chosen to play Tod's high school team (Marshall) in one of the televised games. It was such a cool event! Hopkins ended up beating Marshall 6-0, which was bittersweet for Tod, but the whole experience was one to remember!

The other big news of the past couple months was that Milo went to his very first movie and graduated from tumbling class! And he is also pretty much talking in full sentences now. He is absolutely hilarious and so much fun!

Birthday Boy!

What a goof!

Playing with Sydney and Sam at Choo Choo Bob's

Choo Choo Bob's

Presents!

Christmas!

Murphy all pooped out from Christmas

First time skating!

Skating is tough work!

My girls!

Hockey Day Minnesota

Hockey Day: Hopkins (Blue) v. Marshall (Black)

Hopkins' goalie wore a stocking cap over his helmet!

Graduation from tumbling class!

Friday, November 20, 2009

Tumbling (Tod has forbidden me from calling it "gymnastics")

Milo is really enjoying his tumbling classes, and is getting to be quite the little daredevil. As much as he loves it, I think he likes the drive just as much because on the way there we go by a bunch of road construction with "tractors," "diggers," dump trucks and cranes. I never knew big machinery could be so exciting! It is a good incentive when we wake him up on Saturday mornings. A lot of the time he will say, "no gym," (he's NOT a morning person!) but as soon as we remind him about what we see on the way up there, he's ready to go!

My parents came with us to class last weekend, and my mom was the photographer, as usual. Here's a sample of some of the stuff Milo gets to do at The Little Gym.

Riding the tube